The Iowa Court of Appeals has upheld the first-degree kidnapping conviction of a Cedar Rapids man. Keith Elson was found guilty of the crime after he abducted a nineteen-year-old clerk at knifepoint from the Cedar Rapids convenience store in May of 2010.
Elson took the woman to his apartment where he sexually assaulted her and held her for seven hours. Elson’s appeal contended he was too intoxicated to form specific intent to commit the crime.
A toxicologist testified the Elson’s blood alcohol level could have been anywhere from .21 to .39, and that blood alcohol level could make a person unable to deliberate or premeditate one’s actions.
The Iowa Court of Appeals says evidence that Elson took a knife and rope with him, was watching the store and waited until there were no other customers inside, showed that he had specific intent to commit the assault and that was not hampered by his intoxication.
The Appeals Court says those factors led them to uphold the guilty verdict.
See the full ruling here: Elson ruling PDF